Thomas DOLAN
Bronze vessel from the from the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), in the collection of the Shanghai Museum. PHOTO BY JOAN LEBOLD COHEN.
Artifacts from Chinese history were preserved in Chinese personal and court collections prior to the eighteenth century. After that time foreign contact, wars, and social upheaval meant removal from China and destruction of artifacts. Since Mao’s death, Chinese officials have sought to recover Chinese cultural artifacts and
